Another week goes by and another batch of products have been reviewed on TechRadar.
This week we have been particularly impressed with Samsung's new 32-inch TV which packs excellent picture quality at a price tag normally owned by Toshiba's budget offerings. It may not come with any internet features but most people just want a decent picture anyway, right?
Elsewhere, we've spent enough time with the Chromebook Pixel to deliver a final opinion, and there's been a whole raft of other tests too. So while you wait patiently for our HTC One review (it's coming soon!) check out everything from the past week…
This is the best Chromebook in the world, but even within the context of rating Chromebooks, it's not perfect. When you put it in the wider context of Windows, OS X, iOS, Android and so on, it becomes even less compelling. However, while it's a little trite, Google is getting good at hardware faster than Apple is getting good at services, and the Chromebook Pixel is the best example of that we've ever seen. Apple, the world's biggest technology company, should be paying attention. But ultimately, unless you're a technology fetishist who wants some bragging rights, already love Chrome OS or think you might and are looking for better-made hardware for it than the previous, cheaper Chromebooks, or have enough money to dispose of, move on.
The Samsung 32EH5000's main attraction isn't a complicated one: it's all about the price, plain and simple. There will doubtless be gazillions of TV buyers who simply see the Samsung badge on a 32-inch TV selling for £270 (around US$406/AU$398) and know without further investigation that this must be the TV for them. The Samsung 32EH5000's price does come with feature strings attached, though. It's not 3D ready, it doesn't have any online streaming features, and it can't even 'chat' to a networked DLNA PC. It does, though, support multimedia playback from USB devices, and provides a startling amount of picture tweaks for a budget TV.
Hands on: Nikon Coolpix A review
In the Coolpix A, Nikon has produced a very interesting premium compact camera, with the added bonus of a sensor that has already proved its mettle in the Nikon D7000, an added incentive for anyone on the fence. It's interesting that the company has chosen to remove the optical low pass filter, something that is also true of the Nikon D800E and the recently announced Nikon D7100. That said, with an asking price of just shy of £1,000 (around US$1,506/ AU$1,484), this is a serious investment, and not one to be taken lightly. Though it's not quite up there with the asking price of the Sony RX1, it's also worth pointing out that it does have a smaller sensor.
The ZTE Blade 3 isn't a polished offering but we can almost forgive it when we are reminded of its price tag. This is a cheap and cheerful handset aimed at giving people an entry point to the smartphone market. While it could be tidied up around the edges, made to run a little smoother and upgraded to the latest Jelly Bean version of Android, we are suitably impressed with the Blade 3 as an entry-level device.
Hands on: Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 review
Club3D HD 7870 XTjokerCard review
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 review
Pure Avalon 300R Connect review
